NFL Trade Rumors
The Cincinnati Bengals are hoping to extend WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Tee Higgins and DE Trey Hendrickson this offseason, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The Bengals have already planned to put the non-exclusive tag on Higgins this offseason while they negotiate a long-term deal. At this point in time, it doesn’t appear that they have any plans to move on from him.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow has been adamant about keeping the team’s core intact.
“You could convert some of the money to a signing bonus, which will lower the cap hit,” Burrow said. “You can push some of the money to the back end of the contract. That lowers the cap hit. And then when you get to the back end of the contract, you can restructure it and convert it to a signing bonus. You can also just take less money.”
Hendrickson has recently said that he either wants a contract extension or to be traded.
Chase has an excellent case to reset the market at wide receiver after Vikings WR Justin Jefferson and Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb signed deals last summer worth $35 million a year and $34 million a year respectively. Both deals were worth over $100 million in guarantees.
Cincinnati tried to work out a deal with Chase last summer but couldn’t agree on a cash flow that satisfied the star receiver. Bengals de facto GM Duke Tobin is optimistic they’ll get a deal done this year.
“It’s a priority for us,” Tobin said, via Kelsey Conway of The Enquirer. “It’s something we feel like there’s a framework to work off of. Should be a pretty easy framework to work off of. Guys in his position have recently re-done contracts. We believe in Ja’Marr, he’s very important to us. The other guys that have done contracts are very important to their teams. So, we believe there’s a real framework to work off of. I would expect that we could come together on something that makes sense for both sides.”
Chase, 24, was a two-year starter at LSU and a unanimous All-American during his sophomore season. He opted out of the 2020 college football season due to the pandemic. The Bengals took Chase with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
He is in the fourth year of a four-year, $30,819,642 contract with the Bengals that included a $19,774,285 signing bonus. The Bengals picked up a fifth-year option on him worth $21.816 million fully guaranteed for the 2025 season.
In 2024, Chase appeared in 17 games for the Bengals and caught 127 passes on 175 targets for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns, winning the NFL triple crown by leading the league in catches, yards and touchdowns.
Higgins recently expressed his desire to remain with the Bengals but said it’s not in his control whether they will agree on a deal.
Higgins, 25, is a former second-round pick by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He finished the final year...
